Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a military coup established authoritarian General Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA as president. Despite eventually setting a path to a market economy and multiparty system, VIEIRA's regime was characterized by the suppression of political opposition and the purging of political rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him. In 1994 VIEIRA was elected president in the country's first free, multiparty election. A military mutiny and resulting civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in May 1999. In February 2000, a transitional government turned over power to opposition leader Kumba YALA after he was elected president in transparent polling. In September 2003, after only three years in office, YALA was overthrown in a bloodless military coup, and businessman Henrique ROSA was sworn in as interim president. In 2005, former President VIEIRA was reelected, pledging to pursue economic development and national reconciliation; he was assassinated in March 2009. Malam Bacai SANHA was elected in an emergency election held in June 2009, but he passed away in January 2012 from a long-term illness. A military coup in April 2012 prevented Guinea-Bissau's second-round presidential election - to determine SANHA's successor - from taking place. Following mediation by the Economic Community of Western African States, a civilian transitional government assumed power in 2012 and remained until Jose Mario VAZ won a free and fair election in 2014. A long-running dispute between factions in the ruling PAIGC party has brought the government to a political impasse; there have been five prime ministers since August 2015.

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal

12 00 N, 15 00 W

Africa

slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

350 km

tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

mostly low-lying coastal plain with a deeply indented estuarine coastline rising to savanna in east; numerous off-shore islands including the Arquipelago Dos Bijagos consisting of 18 main islands and many small islets

highest point: unnamed elevation in the eastern part of the country 300 m

fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum

arable land 8.2%; permanent crops 6.9%; permanent pasture 29.7%

250 sq km (2012)

approximately one-fifth of the population lives in the capital city of Bissau along the Atlantic coast; the remainder is distributed among the eight other, mainly rural, regions

hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires

deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing

this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying inland

1,792,338 (July 2017 est.)

Fulani 28.5%, Balanta 22.5%, Mandinga 14.7%, Papel 9.1%, Manjaco 8.3%, Beafada 3.5%, Mancanha 3.1%, Bijago 2.1%, Felupe 1.7%, Mansoanca 1.4%, Balanta Mane 1%, other 1.8%, none 2.2% (2008 est.)

Crioulo (lingua franca), Portuguese (official; largely used as a second or third language), Pular (a Fula language), Mandingo

Muslim 45.1%, Christian 22.1%, animist 14.9%, none 2%, unspecified 15.9% (2008 est.)

Guinea-Bissau’s young and growing population is sustained by high fertility; approximately 60% of the population is under the age of 25. Its large reproductive-age population and total fertility rate of more than 4 children per woman offsets the country’s high infant and maternal mortality rates. The latter is among the world’s highest because of the prevalence of early childbearing, a lack of birth spacing, the high percentage of births outside of health care facilities, and a shortage of medicines and supplies.

Guinea-Bissau’s history of political instability, a civil war, and several coups (the latest in 2012) have resulted in a fragile state with a weak economy, high unemployment, rampant corruption, widespread poverty, and thriving drug and child trafficking. With the country lacking educational infrastructure, school funding and materials, and qualified teachers, and with the cultural emphasis placed on religious education, parents frequently send boys to study in residential Koranic schools (daaras) in Senegal and The Gambia. They often are extremely deprived and are forced into street begging or agricultural work by marabouts (Muslim religious teachers), who enrich themselves at the expense of the children. Boys who leave their marabouts often end up on the streets of Dakar or other large Senegalese towns and are vulnerable to even worse abuse.

Some young men lacking in education and job prospects become involved in the flourishing international drug trade. Local drug use and associated violent crime are growing.

1.86% (2017 est.)

32.5 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

13.9 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

approximately one-fifth of the population lives in the capital city of Bissau along the Atlantic coast; the remainder is distributed among the eight other, mainly rural, regions

BISSAU (capital) 492,000 (2015)

549 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

4.09 children born/woman (2017 est.)

16% (2014)

5.6% of GDP (2014)

0.08 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

1 beds/1,000 population (2009)

urban: 98.8% of population

rural: 60.3% of population

total: 79.3% of population

urban: 1.2% of population

rural: 39.7% of population

total: 20.7% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 33.5% of population

rural: 8.5% of population

total: 20.8% of population

urban: 66.5% of population

rural: 91.5% of population

total: 79.2% of population (2015 est.)

3.1% (2016 est.)

36,000 (2016 est.)

2,000 (2016 est.)

9.5% (2016)

17% (2014)

2.2% of GDP (2013)

semi-presidential republic

9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama/Bijagos, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali

24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)

Independence Day, 24 September (1973)

mixed legal system of civil law, which incorporated Portuguese law at independence and influenced by early French civil code and customary law

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde or PAIGC [Domingos SIMOES PEREIRA]

Democratic Convergence Party or PCD [Vicente FERNANDES]

New Democracy Party or PND [Mamadu Iaia DJALO]

Party for Social Renewal or PRS [Alberto NAMBEIA]

Republican Party for Independence and Development or PRID [Aristides GOMES]

Union for Change or UM [Agnelo REGALA]

Chamber of Commerce of Agriculture, Industry, and Services [Braima CAMARA]

ACP, AfDB, AOSIS, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and a military-led junta; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau

two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; yellow symbolizes the sun; green denotes hope; red represents blood shed during the struggle for independence; the black star stands for African unity

black star; national colors: red, yellow, green, black

Guinea-Bissau is highly dependent on subsistence agriculture, cashew nut exports, and foreign assistance. Two out of three Bissau-Guineans remain below the absolute poverty line. The legal economy is based on cashews and fishing. Illegal logging and trafficking in narcotics also play significant roles. The combination of limited economic prospects, weak institutions, and favorable geography have made this West African country a way station for drugs bound for Europe.

Guinea-Bissau has substantial potential for development of mineral resources, including phosphates, bauxite, and mineral sands. Offshore oil and gas exploration has begun. The country’s climate and soil make it feasible to grow a wide range of cash crops, fruit, vegetables, and tubers; however, cashews generate more than 80% of export receipts and are the main source of income for many rural communities.

With renewed donor support following elections in April-May 2014 and a successful regional bond issuance, the Government of Guinea-Bissau began to make progress paying salaries, settling domestic arrears, and gaining more control over revenues and expenditures, but it was deposed by the president in August 2015. A political stalemate since then has resulted in weak governance and reduced donor support.

The country is participating in a three-year, IMF extended credit facility program that was suspended because of a planned bank bailout. The program was renewed in 2017, but the major donors of direct budget support (the EU, World Bank, and African Development Bank) have halted their programs indefinitely. Diversification of the economy remains a key policy goal, but Guinea-Bissau’s poor infrastructure and business climate will constrain this effort.

$2.875 billion (2016 est.)

$2.701 billion (2015 est.)

$2.542 billion (2014 est.)

$1.152 billion (2016 est.)

5.1% (2016 est.)

5.1% (2015 est.)

1% (2014 est.)

$1,700 (2016 est.)

$1,700 (2015 est.)

$1,600 (2014 est.)

14% of GDP (2016 est.)

11.9% of GDP (2015 est.)

8.4% of GDP (2014 est.)

rice, corn, beans, cassava (manioc, tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish

agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks

0.7% (2016 est.)

731,300 (2013 est.)

NA%

67% (2015 est.)

15.7% of GDP (2016 est.)

-6.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

46.3% of GDP (2016 est.)

46.8% of GDP (2015 est.)

calendar year

1.5% (2016 est.)

1.4% (2015 est.)

4.25% (31 December 2009)

4.75% (31 December 2008)

5.3% (31 December 2016 est.)

5.15% (31 December 2015 est.)

$525.2 million (31 December 2016 est.)

$454.8 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$560 million (31 December 2016 est.)

$514.1 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$241 million (31 December 2016 est.)

$206.5 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$NA

$11 million (2016 est.)

$39.4 million (2015 est.)

$278.6 million (2016 est.)

$258.7 million (2015 est.)

fish, shrimp; cashews, peanuts, palm kernels, raw and sawn lumber

India 64.6%, Vietnam 9.4%, Belarus 9.4%, Nigeria 4.7% (2016)

$221.8 million (2016 est.)

$229.3 million (2015 est.)

foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products

Portugal 44.2%, Senegal 19.2%, China 7.2%, Pakistan 6.7%, Netherlands 4.4% (2016)

$1.095 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$941.5 million (31 December 2000 est.)

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -

593.01 (2016 est.)

593.01 (2015 est.)

591.45 (2014 est.)

494.42 (2013 est.)

510.53 (2012 est.)

34 million kWh (2015 est.)

31.62 million kWh (2015 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

28,000 kW (2015 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

2,500 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

2,423 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)

500,000 Mt (2013 est.)

1 state-owned TV station and a second station, Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP) Africa, is operated by Portuguese public broadcaster (RTP); 1 state-owned radio station, several private radio stations, and some community radio stations; multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)

.gw

J5 (2016)

8 (2013)

(rivers are partially navigable; many inlets and creeks provide shallow-water access to much of interior) (2012)

1.76% of GDP (2015)

1.94% of GDP (2014)

2.11% of GDP (2013)

2.46% of GDP (2012)

1.58% of GDP (2011)

People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, National Air Force (Forca Aerea Nacional); Presidential Guard (2012)

18-25 years of age for selective compulsory military service (Air Force service is voluntary); 16 years of age or younger, with parental consent, for voluntary service (2013)

a longstanding low-grade conflict continues in parts of

increasingly important transit country for South American cocaine en route to Europe; enabling environment for trafficker operations due to pervasive corruption; archipelago-like geography near the capital facilitates drug smuggling